The Mojo Blog

09/09/2010

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Hey gals and guys! We’re hopping back on this blogging bandwagon and to kick things off, we want to open up a discussion about theme demos. Good times right? Right!

Live Demos are Important

Absolutely. I think it’s a safe to say buyers appreciate having the ability to see EVERYTHING a theme can do before they buy. For me, it wouldn’t only give me confidence but it also allows you to see what you can do with a theme. This is your chance to show everyone what your items got, so again, the live demo is a big deal.

With that being said, we decided to break down some key features we think make a live demo shine. Let’s jump into it.

Clean Images

There’s really no order of importance with these, but if I had to say one of the most important to me personally it would definitely be the images used within your live demo. Why? For starters, themes using the same sample image for EVERY single image is boring, there’s not contrast and it makes the demo look bland.

Showcasing Features

Sure, all themes and templates have features but are you properly highlighting all of them? I get it, after working on your item it’s easy to skip over things but don’t sell your item short.

Also sometimes it’s not enough to just list out each and every feature. Get creative and use graphics, icons, imagery to showcase those finger-lickin’ good features.

Explaining Shortcodes

If you’re working with WordPress themes, there’s a good chance you’ve noticed that shortcodes have quickly become popular. More and more WordPress themes are starting to implement shortcodes as part of the themes functionality, yet the live demos don’t do a good job highlighting what they can do.

If you’ve got them, dedicate an entire page for them.

Demo Colors

Easily one of the best ways to help buyers on the fence. A lot of times, it’s hard to see if a theme will work with just the one theme color demo. Take some time to build in the functionality to switch between colors. It will pay off in the long run.

Laying out Posts & Pages

Again, dedicating entire pages for certain features of your item can be a major plus, especially when showing how elements will be styled. Go over as many elements as you can to show how it will look inside a post or page.

Headers

Blockquotes

Lists

Images (left, center, right)

etc.

Sidebars & Widgets

Showing off full sidebars that are complete with various widgets shows potential buyers that your item really is widget ready. Again, probably speaking more to WordPress themes but even throughout various HTML templates it provides a great selling point.

Tease the Theme Options

Let’s face it, buyers want to know what they can and can’t control. Is the theme capable of handling particular functions? Depending on the level of the buyer, some want to know simple tasks like how easy it is to switch between color schemes while more advanced buyers are looking at how customizable your item will be for their next project.